Me at my low point circa late 2009, perpetually injured and just plain out of shape despite still doing some lifting

Forward to 2010, a much better time after lots of dieting and work to lose what fat I could

Then, injuries stacked up again, went from around 225 lbs. in the photo above to about 242 lbs. and was about 18-20 lbs. from looking like I did in the first photo. No photos of that time, was just too depressed to bother.

Now on to the current day! Lower back rehab complete, on the comeback trail with a better diet and a good training protocol that works for me, more upper body mass @ around 226 lbs. bodyweight but lost a few lbs. in the legs over the past few years while rehabbing and not doing much lower body work. Only regret was not being able to get a good back shot, it is by far my strongest point as my back width and thickness has gotten MUCH better in the past year

Here's to hoping I'll have some shots for 2013 that feature the big legs I used to have along with less fat!

"A 'hardgainer' is merely someone who hasn't bothered to try enough different training methods to learn what is actually right for their own damned body." - anonymous

Thanks for the compliments, everyone! It is an interesting progress, now the mission is to stay injury-free and be stronger and in better shape when I hit 40 in a year and a half than I've ever been before!

blabbate wrote:Holy crap, VE. You are where I want to be. Mind if I ask your height? I didn't see it in the post, and I remember you being quite tall.

I'm a fraction of an inch shy of 6' to the mark (I think all the heavy compression may have squished me down a bit over the years, I seem to remember being 6' at one point ) Not short but not a giant, despite early predictions that I was going to be close to 6'5" when I towered over all the other kids through elementary school.

"A 'hardgainer' is merely someone who hasn't bothered to try enough different training methods to learn what is actually right for their own damned body." - anonymous